so I'm a bit confused as to why when people ask you a question, you'll respond with a doodle but then you won't take drawing requests? I think the people who ask for you to draw something expect a doodle...

Oh yeah, I can definitely tell when people are fishing for doodles…heh. Here’s a little parable, to try and illustrate my thought process here:

I make a batch of cookies and I take them to my friends’ house. “Here, I brought these cookies that I made for fun! I like chocolate chip cookies, so that’s what I made–hope you all like them too!” My friends begin to chow down on the cookies when one of them pipes up “This is great and all…but I’d like some ice cream!” “Oh dear,” says I “I’d have to plan to go to the groceries, drive over to the store, spend time picking out the right flavor, and spend money on it…But if you really want ice cream, you can send me money and I’ll gladly deliver it–” “But WAIT!” says friend “You were handing out free food!” “Well,” says I “I was handing out free cookies. Cookies that I made for fun, for myself that I am choosing to share…that’s not the same thing!”

I realize that it can sound counter-intuitive, so heres my personal rule-of-thumb: Do I want to doodle a response, Y/N? Its my choice, its my time, I draw what I want, and I get around to doing them if I feel like it. That rule does not apply to requests! With a request–I am drawing what someone else wants, to their specifications, and I usually have a time by which it has to be done. That makes it work. And if I am working for someone else–I should probably be paid! There have been times where what I want=what the person seemed to be hinting at–but again, only if I feel like it. If I feel pressured or if the person is being rude/inappropriate, it ain’t gonna happen.

Also, if someone is giving a very kind, thought-out compliment, a sketch is just how I like to show my gratitude. Sometimes the sketches are really simple, sometimes they are short comics, it all depends on my mood, I suppose! I don’t have to do any of that, and a lot of artists don’t! I probably draw more responses than I should–I don’t want people getting any false expectations about other artists!!

That said, there have been a lot of occasions where I don’t doodle for a response, or I post a gif/type an answer. And sometimes the drawings I post are old sketches that I’ve had sitting around anyway, and I just share them when they come up in the conversation (“What does x-character look like?” etc)!

Anyway, I hope that clears up the issue a little bit! Sorry for the confusion <3